Is a Facebook Page Worth the Effort in 2014?

Facebook is an established part of the marketing mix. But is it worth it?

Facebook may be here to stay, but new businesses still have to make the decision of whether or not to put valuable marketing resources into a Facebook Business Page.

At Mygooi we’ve been building a FB community for six months and as of this week have 225,443 Likes. Some Likes have come from organic reach, others have come from posts where we’ve paid to get in front of potential followers. (Tip: Mobile FB advertising rocks!)

But did anyone ever make a purchase decision based on a Facebook statusupdate?

Feeling the Pinch

The harsh reality in late July 2014 is that to reach your existing audience on Facebook you pretty much have to pay. Not always a lot, but something: 50 dollars here, 100 dollars there gets your updates in front of a few thousand of your friends and followers.

If you don’t pay, it’s likely your carefully crafted Facebook updates will reach under one percent of your existing followers.

The Rise of Click & Move On

Back in the early days of blogging, ca 2003, it was pretty standard to get a bunch of comments, thoughts and meaningful responses from people that stumbled across the content private and business bloggers were publishing online.

In the early days of social media, blogs were important digital homes and those businesses that built a strong platform of followers and visitors to their site through Google search, benefited in getting their message out.

Fast forward to 2014. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and to a lesser extent Google+ are the new blogs; Like buttons (or whatever a service is calling them) are the new Blog Comments. A visitor to your stream will either Like or ignore your messaging then quickly move on. If you’re extremely lucky you might get a couple of word response.

A New Sensation

Sites like Upworthy seem to have invaded our unconscious attitudes, teaching us to notice dumbed-down, sensational content before anything else. No wonder more and more business content on Facebook feels increasingly sensational.

But Is Facebook Worth it?

Since when has telling jokes, being rude and provocative, flashing the flesh, being outlandish, crazy or zany sold a photocopying machine?

Or medical reporting data.

Or multinational corporate law services ?

I’m aware I’m painting in broad strokes here but the point I’m trying to get across is that businesses in the B2B space have typically won customers by building trust, credibility and showing potential customers that they can “answer” the business problems that the prospect is trying to solve.

“What’s the best value copy machine for our office?” won’t necessarily be answered by a Facebook status update.

“Which legal services provider in my city will help us cover ourselves when selling to Belgium?” won’t either.

Build a Solid Base & Maybe Spice to Taste

Bottom line, if you’re working in the B2B sector, your website, its ability to be found in Google search when potential customers seek answers to their question or clear, precise and engaging copy – is way more likely to convert leads and prospects than something sensational on Facebook.

Sure, being on Facebook or Twitter might help you get people into that initial sales funnel, get your brand noticed, and humanize your brand. But frankly I don’t see it as a must-have platform for every new business starting out there today. Particularly as it seems you have to pay Facebook to even reach one percentage of the hard worn Liking audience you’ve built on Facebook.

[…] Take away: Facebook doesn’t publish its stats for how many ads it blocks or removes itself but according to the researchers some ads have disappeared since the report was published. You don’t need to be researcher though to notice how many Facebook ads are for questionable services or products. For anyone thinking of advertising on Facebook this is an issue as your ads will be rubbing shoulders with scammers. If Facebook is going to stay relevant for businesses they have to deal with this issue, especially considering their increasing limitations on Facebook reach. With more hidden behind an increasing paywall and suspect ads crowding you out, you have to wonder if Facebook still offers an attractive value proposition. […]